ETS 125 vs ETS EC 125/3 finishing/polishing clear epoxy resin?

[bob38]

Alright first everyone was saying use it on RO mode and now we're back to Rotex mode. Alright since I obviously don't have a clue what I'm doing I'm still going to listen and try to start all over tomorrow at a low grit and work my way all the way back up in Rotex mode.

I'm even going to follow the guys advice in the video and operate the machine in the pattern he showed. Also going to use the machine speed he showed.

I'm gonna go to bed tonight and have nightmares about sanding.

Will post photos of results in a day or two.

I appreciate everyone's advice and patience with me being a noob.

 

[jcrowe1950]

Those little swirl “pig tails” are from the sander when used in the RO mode. Put the Rotex in the geared drive Rotex mode, reinstall some 400 grit paper and resand the area so that the pig tails are gone and there is a random, dull, uniform finish to the epoxy.

Vacuum and wipe the surface clean and then install some 500 paper. Repeat the process until you end with 2000 or 4000.

Cheese speaks the truth. One thing to remember with any sander is to let the tool do the work....as my friend Scott Lee says, the tool is the sandpaper and the sander is what moves the tool. Bearing down on any sander with coarse grit has tons of disadvantages. First, when you gouge out that much material, removing the scratch marks takes longer and is more frustrating. Consider watching some Brian Sedgeley videos on this as he has a very nice method of work with the Rotex and other Festool sanders.

 

[junk731]

This is one of the sad realities, even if you buy professional grade equipment it doesn't mean you will get professional grade results when sanding is new to you. The sander is just a tool, results come from practice and developing the proper techniques. Like others have said practice on other hardwoods until you can polish them with out swirls. By the way you can get great results in both gear mode and RO once you understand what you're doing.

 

[Cheese]

Others have noted and I concur that those "pig tails" maybe deeper than the 400 grit paper you referred to. If so, try using some 400 grit while in the Rotex mode for 5-10 seconds, if that doesn't remove the pig tails, move on to a different area and attach some 320/280 paper. Again, sand for 5-10 seconds, if that doesn't remove the pig tails back it down another grit size and move on to another area.

We see the results and they are pretty terrible but we don't know at what grit these results presented themselves...only you know that.

The important part is to figure out what grit level left those swirl/pig tails.

Don't dwell in the same area for an extended period of time as you will dish the epoxy, thats the reason for sanding for 5-10 seconds and then moving on.

 

[Stan Tillinghast]

Just need to tell you guys I am learning a lot from this thread!
I’m going to get my Rotex (it’s a 125) out and practice on some hardwood, maybe even put epoxy on some scrap wood to practice on.

 

[Ron B]

Heck, I'm learning a lot from this and I don't even have a Festool sander.

 

[JonSingh]

Plus one on Cheese’s comments.

I’ll suggest that those are lower grit swirls and you’ve also probably got them in the wood too. You need to eliminate those swirls before you go to the next higher grit. I find it useful to set up a light across the surface at a low angle shining across the work piece to spot those things.

Keep the sander in geared rotary mode leave RO mode alone. It is helpful to have a set pattern when you sand. You also need a nice smooth motion when you move the sander. You can also get those swirls with any other sander as well.

Watch this video for the technique.


Maybe grab another piece of wood to practice on.

Ron

Just watched this video, it kinda seems like he's almost suggesting not to use random orbit and just do all your sanding in Rotex mode with this technique. I guess if you're on walnut top, and you've started pretty low, lets say 40grit like he did, at what point do you switch over to random orbit?

 

[rvieceli]

[member=72917]JonSingh[/member]

Larry never switches over to Random Orbit mode. he uses Rotex mode all the way up and through to polishing

 

[Cheese]

Just watched this video, it kinda seems like he's almost suggesting not to use random orbit and just do all your sanding in Rotex mode with this technique. I guess if you're on walnut top, and you've started pretty low, lets say 40grit like he did, at what point do you switch over to random orbit?

Like everything else in life there are many ways to produce a desired result.

I've used this method for sanding down a walnut countertop and it produced a beautiful sheen...I went up to 2000 and it was a true mirror surface, however, the wood was medium brown and lacked the depth and the color that walnut is known for.  This seemed to me to be a bit less of what I desired and I needed to readjust my parameters.

I went back to the 280/320 grit and brought it up to 600 before I applied the oil. Applying the oil at 2000 grit doesn't allow the oil to penetrate the wood...at 600 the oil is still able to penetrate and produces a richness that's indicative of walnut. A lot of this stuff is not rooted in theory but just depends upon what the desired result is and that is user dependent.

 

[bob38]

Just an update. I went to a Festool dealer and they allowed me to demo a few tools. I brought an old piece of epoxy/wood that I experimented with before doing a table.

The ETS EC 125/5 produces a much smoother frost on epoxy when sanding compared to the Rotex 150 if you compare them side by side.

The people that replied seemed more concerned with proving the Rotex 150 could do it. I'm sure it could in the right hands but I'm not going to be giving myself nightmares trying to do it.

I wanted the easiest way of doing this and the Rotex is not it.

I bought the ETS EC 125/5 and finished the table with it. Went much better and much easier compared to the Rotex. I'm waiting for the oil to dry. Will post results in a few days.

If you have a bad back the ETS will also save you a lot of pain as it's much lighter and can be held with one hand.

I'm gonna keep the Rotex but I'll only be using it for heavy stock removal at 60/80/100 grit.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The Rotex can indeed do it, but is has a way bigger learning curve than an ETS EC 125/5, and the task is easier with the smaller sander.

What I don't understand is, if you have a Rotex, why buy the 125/5 model and not the 125/3 which is even better suited for finish sanding? Or did you return the Rotex?

 

[bob38]

The Rotex can indeed do it, but is has a way bigger learning curve than an ETS EC 125/5, and the task is easier with the smaller sander.

What I don't understand is, if you have a Rotex, why buy the 125/5 model and not the 125/3 which is even better suited for finish sanding? Or did you return the Rotex?

The Festool guy demo'd both the 125/5 and 125/3. We examined the results by eye and then took a photo and zoomed all the way in. No noticeable difference that me or the guy could see.

They both were about equal in ease of use. The 5 just cut a little faster.

This was on Black walnut and epoxy. Results may differ on other materials.

 

[mrboult]

Since when has there been an ETS EC 125/5 sander? You mean a 150/5 surely!?

 

[junk731]

Another curiosity is why you didn't get the 6" pad for your ETS EC 125 and use your existing sandpaper instead of resupplying. Perhaps your salesperson didn't know this was a possibility to save you some money. In the end you got what you wanted and kept the constant flow of money going to your Festool dealer.

 

[Cheese]

The Festool guy demo'd both the 125/5 and 125/3. We examined the results by eye and then took a photo and zoomed all the way in. No noticeable difference that me or the guy could see.

They both were about equal in ease of use. The 5 just cut a little faster.

The ETS EC 125 is only available with a 3 mm stroke.

The ETS EC 150 is available with either a 3 mm stroke or a 5 mm stroke.    So you purchased a ETS EC 150/5? 

That's a nice sander, you'll be happy with it. I should point out however that your RO 150 and your ETS EC 150/5 both have 5 mm strokes so neither are technically considered to be extra fine sanders. That may or may not be an issue depending on what your needs are.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The ETS EC 125 is only available with a 3 mm stroke.

The ETS EC 150 is available with either a 3 mm stroke or a 5 mm stroke.    So you purchased a ETS EC 150/5? 

Oops!

I find store clerks who sell Festools the most UN-informed people you can find. They never work with the tools, they know nothing about them. Funny is how they're supposed to advice professionals who work with these tools all days on what is best.

 

[bob38]

I meant the 150/5. My bad. It has the 6" pad to so I could use all my existing sand paper.